The present disclosure relates generally to efficient data processing using integrated circuits. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to offloading certain computations of programmable logic on an integrated circuit (e.g., an FPGA) to an offload processor.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Integrated circuits (ICs) take a variety of forms. For instance, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are integrated circuits that may serve as relatively general-purpose devices. FPGAs may include logic that may be programmed (e.g., configured) after manufacturing to provide any desired functionality that the FPGA is designed to support. Thus, FPGAs contain programmable logic, or logic blocks, that may be configured to perform a variety of functions on the FPGAs, according to a designer's design.
In ICs such as FPGAs, the programmable logic is typically configured using low level programming languages such as VHDL or Verilog. Unfortunately, these low level programming languages may provide a low level of abstraction and, thus, may provide a development barrier for programmable logic designers. Higher level programming languages, such as OpenCL have become useful for enabling more ease in programmable logic design. The higher level programs are used to generate code corresponding to the low level programming languages. Kernels may be useful to bridge the low level programming languages into executable instructions that may be performed by the integrated circuits. Accordingly, OpenCL programs typically utilize at least a single hardware implementation for each kernel in the OpenCL program. Unfortunately, as these programs become more complex and/or sophisticated, the performance of the implementation on the integrated circuit may be negatively impacted. For example, logic storage area on the IC (e.g., FPGA) may oftentimes be a limiting factor for design of the programs. Further, complex functions may be slow or expensive to implement in the IC hardware.